Kiltale 2-19 Longwood 1-11

Longwood’s senior hurlers completed their Group B round robin games on Sunday, losing out to Kiltale in Athboy.

It was a somewhat strange game. Barring an extremely bizarre turn of events, both teams were unlikely to see a change to their position in the final group standings. And so it transpired; Kiltale qualified for a Senior Championship quarter-final against Kildalkey while Longwood’s fourth place finish secured them a Senior B Championship semi-final against Dunderry or Blackhall Gaels. So plenty for both teams to look forward to as we move into September.

The game drew a good crowd but both teams seemed a little tentative in the opening exchanges and the scoring rate was quite slow to begin with. The teams were tied at just 0-2 apiece after eleven minutes but Kiltale would dominate the remainder of the half. Handling errors and some sloppy passing saw Longwood concede two avoidable goals, and this really handed the initiative to their opponents.  

Despite a couple of excellent long-range points from Damien Healy and Mickey Burke, the men from Kiltale were able to take an eight-point lead to the interval.  Indeed, it could have been more but for some wayward shooting from their forward line.

Half-time:  Longwood 0-5 Kiltale 2-7

An early Anthony Healy point from a long distance free offered Longwood’s supporters some hope, but this was quickly extinguished by a run of six consecutive Kiltale points, three from the stick of Jack Regan.  

To Longwood’s credit they refused to lie down and outscored their opponents 1-5 to 0-6 over the final twenty minutes. This was important given that scoring difference was likely to come into play when all was said and done. The work rate of Adam Leacy and Billy Hogan was particularly noticeable in this period and goalkeeper Mark Kennedy pulled off a couple of excellent saves to deny Kiltale.

A bizarre ending to the game saw Longwood awarded two penalties in injury time.  Damien Healy had relocated to the edge of the square by now and, despite struggling to win a free throughout the contest, big Damo was finally rewarded for his efforts.  He fielded two high deliveries and was fouled on both occasions. His brother Anthony drilled the first penalty just wide of the post but made amends soon after with a clinical finish, low to the keeper’s right-hand side.

The final whistle soon followed.

Longwood: Mark Kennedy, Adam Leacy, Damien Healy (0-2), Ross Kerrigan, Brian Stagg, Mickey Burke (0-1), Bob Maguire, Billy Hogan, Ryan Moore, Anthony Healy (1-8), Karl Ennis, Conor Dixon, Malachy Fisher, Gavin Griffith, Joey Stenson. Subs: Ben McLoughlin for Malachy Fisher, Thomas Dorran for Gavin Griffith, David Coloe for Ryan Moore, Kieran Murtagh for Karl Ennis, Fionn Hannon for Brian Stagg.

As always during championship season, there is little time to rest and recover. It would have been nice for a dual club to have had a seven-day gap to their next game but instead Longwood must face up to Castletown in a must-win Intermediate Football game in Cortown on Friday evening. 

Their fourth-place finish in Group B has thankfully secured them a break on the following weekend. This will be much needed after a gruelling run of seven championship games over seven consecutive weekends.

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